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Flight Lieutenant Lakers
In The Flying Spy, Flight Lieutenant Lakers was a pilot from 298 Squadron near Marley. While out on a test flight, Lakers got further from his base than he should have and was bounced by a large group of enemy fighters. He escaped from them with the help of Biggles. Lakers' aircraft had been badly shot up. He linked up with Biggles and landed Rawlham where Biggles invited him to lunch. Biggles began to get suspicious about Lakers. For one thing, he spoke with an accent and used unusual phrases--he explained he was Canadian. For another, Lakers used a cigarette case which looked exactly the same as that owned by another pilot whom Biggles knew personally and who had been shot down over France. Finally, as Biggles showed Algy, a bullet hole in Lakers' Spitfire should have passed through the pilot's thigh but Lakers was unhurt and he had told Biggles he had not been under fire before that day. Biggles surmised that Lakers might be a German pilot who had acquired the Spitfire from the real Lakers after he had been shot down and had flown it back to England as a spy. Accordingly he set a trap. Since Lakers said he had not shot down an enemy aircraft before, Biggles invited him to join a patrol with him and Algy. He then laid a map in the operations room (with fake markings about the locations fo British fighter bases) and had Algy invite him to study it before the flight. Biggles reasoned that if Lakers were a spy, he would grab the map as a prize and head straight for France. If not, he would stay to join the patrol. Lakers accepted Algy's suggestion to study the map before the flight and true to form, he studied it carefully and made notes, and then to Algy's consternation, he pocketed the map and took off immediately. Algy, now almost convinced that Lakers was a spy, signalled to Biggles, who was waiting in the air to either force the spy to land or shoot him down. Just then, Algy met Bertie who told him that Lakers had a brother Frank. This other Lakers had been shot down recently and Lakers had been using his deceased brother's cigarette case. Lakers himself should have been on the same mission with his unfortunate brother but another pilot had flown the aircraft and had been injured in the thigh. Algy realised that Biggles had been terribly wrong and took off immediately to chase after Lakers and Biggles. Meanwhile Biggles had been giving chase to Lakers and was about to make his move on him when Lakers suddenly turned and fired. Biggles followed in the turn and saw that the bullets were not meant for him but for an Me 109 formation which was behind and above them! By good fortune and fine shooting, Lakers had shot down the leader with his first burst. A littled puzzled that the "spy" had shot down an enemy aircraft, Biggles joined Lakers in the ensuing dogfight, soon to be supported by Algy who had arrived in time. Lakers' Spitfire was damaged in the battle and force landed some distance away. Down at Rawlham, Algy had just begun to explain to Biggles his mistake when a car arrived with Lakers onboard. He was unhurt and returned to Rawlham elated and grateful that Biggles had helped him score his first kill. Category:People Category:Biggles characters Category:WW2 era characters